1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to substituted imidazole compounds which act as inhibitors of Factor Xa. This invention is also directed to pharmaceutical compositions containing the substituted imidazole compounds and methods of using the compounds or compositions to treat a condition characterized by undesired thrombosis. The invention is also directed to methods of making the compounds described herein.
2. State of the Art
Hemostasis, the control of bleeding, occurs by surgical means, or by the physiological properties of vasoconstriction and coagulation. This invention is particularly concerned with blood coagulation and ways in which it assists in maintaining the integrity of mammalian circulation after injury, inflammation, disease, congenital defect, dysfunction or other disruption. Although platelets and blood coagulation are both involved in restoring hemostasis and in thrombotic diseases, certain components of the coagulation cascade are primarily responsible for the amplification and acceleration of the processes involved in platelet aggregation and fibrin deposition which are major events in thrombosis and hemostasis.
Clot formation involves the conversion of fibrinogen to fibrin which polymerizes into a network to restore hemostasis after injury. A similar process results in occluded blood vessels in thrombotic diseases. The conversion of fibrinogen to fibrin is catalyzed by thrombin, the end product of a series of reactions in the blood coagulation cascade. Thrombin is also a key player in activating platelets, thereby contributing to thrombosis under conditions of both arterial and venous blood flow. For these reasons, it has been postulated that efficient regulation of thrombin can lead to efficient regulation of thrombosis. Several classes of currently used anticoagulants directly or indirectly affect thrombin (i.e. unfractionated heparins, low-molecular weight heparins, heparin-like compounds, pentasaccharide and warfarin). Direct or indirect inhibition of thrombin activity has also been the focus of a variety of anticoagulants in clinical development (reviewed by Eriksson and Quinlan, Drugs 11: 1411-1429, 2006).
Prothrombin, the precursor for thrombin, is converted to the active enzyme by factor Xa. Localized activation of tissue factor/factor VIIa mediated factor Xa generation is amplified by the factor IXa/factor VIIIa complex and leads to prothrombinase assembly on activated platelets. Factor Xa, as a part of the prothrombinase complex, is the sole enzyme responsible for sustained thrombin formation in the vasculature. Factor Xa is a serine protease, the activated form of its precursor Factor X, and a member of the calcium ion binding, gamma carboxyglutamic acid (GLA)-containing, vitamin K dependent, blood coagulation factors. Unlike thrombin, which acts on a variety of protein substrates including fibrinogen and the PAR receptors (Protease activated receptors, Coughlin, J Thrombosis Haemostasis 3: 1800-1814, 2005), factor Xa appears to have a single physiologic substrate, namely prothrombin. Since one molecule of factor Xa may be able to generate greater than 1000 molecules of thrombin (Mann, et al., J. Thrombosis. Haemostasis 1: 1504-1514, 2003), direct inhibition of factor Xa as a way of indirectly inhibiting the formation of thrombin may be an efficient anticoagulant strategy. This assertion is based on the key role of prothrombinase in thrombin synthesis and on the fact that inhibition of prothrombinase will have a pronounced effect on the overall platelet aggregation and clotting pathways.
Activated proteases such as factor VIIa, factor IXa or factor Xa have poor proteolytic activity on their own. However, their assembly into cofactor-dependent, membrane-bound complexes significantly enhances their catalytic efficiencies. This effect is most dramatic for factor Xa, where the efficiency is increased by a factor of 105 (Mann, et al., Blood 76(1):1-16, 1990). Due to the higher concentration of the zymogens present in blood (1.4 micromolar prothrombin versus 150 nanomolar factor X) and the kinetics of activation, a smaller amount of factor Xa than thrombin needs to be inhibited to achieve an anticoagulant effect. Indirect proof of the hypothesis of superiority of factor Xa as a therapeutic target compared to thrombin can also be found in clinical trials for the prevention of deep vein thrombosis. Fondaparinux, an antithrombin III dependent factor Xa inhibitor, was proven to be superior to enoxaparin (a low molecular weight heparin that inhibits both thrombin and factor Xa) in four trials of orthopedic surgery (Turpie, et al., Archives Internal Medicine 162(16): 1833-1840, 2002). Therefore, it has been suggested that compounds which selectively inhibit factor Xa may be useful as in vitro diagnostic agents, or for therapeutic administration in certain thrombotic disorders, see e.g., WO 94/13693.
Several Factor Xa inhibitors have been reported as polypeptides derived from hematophagous organisms, as well as compounds which are not large polypeptide-type inhibitors. Additional Factor Xa inhibitors include small molecule organic compounds, such as nitrogen containing heterocyclic compounds which have amidino substituent groups, wherein two functional groups of the compounds can bind to Factor Xa at two of its active sites. For example, WO 98/28269 describes pyrazole compounds having a terminal C(═NH)—NH2 group; WO 97/21437 describes benzimidazole compounds substituted by a basic radical which are connected to a naphthyl group via a straight or branched chain alkylene, —C(═O) or —S(═O)2 bridging group; WO 99/10316 describes compounds having a 4-phenyl-N-alkylamidino-piperidine and 4-phenoxy-N-alkylamidino-piperidine group connected to a 3-amidinophenyl group via a carboxamidealkyleneamino bridge; and EP 798295 describes compounds having a 4-phenoxy-N-alkylamidino-piperidine group connected to an amidinonaphthyl group via a substituted or unsubstituted sulfonamide or carboxamide bridging group.
There exists a need for effective therapeutic agents for the regulation of hemostasis, and for the prevention and treatment of thrombus formation and other pathological processes in the vasculature induced by thrombin such as restenosis and inflammation. In particular, there continues to be a need for compounds which selectively inhibit factor Xa or its precursors. Compounds that have different combinations of bridging groups and functional groups than compounds previously discovered are needed, particularly compounds which selectively or preferentially bind to Factor Xa. Compounds with a higher degree of binding to Factor Xa than to thrombin are desired, especially those compounds having good bioavailability and/or solubility.